Uganda’s long-serving leader, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, is not leaving the stage — not yet, and perhaps not for years. At 81, Museveni has officially been cleared to run for reelection in 2026, setting him up for an almost unthinkable milestone: half a century in power. In a country where the median age is just under 17, the man who has been president since 1986 is preparing to ask yet another generation to keep him at the helm.
The announcement came from Uganda’s Electoral Commission, confirming Museveni’s eligibility and satisfying the last formal step before campaign season kicks off. For many Ugandans, this is not surprising. Museveni has twice changed the constitution — once to remove term limits in 2005, and again to scrap the presidential age limit in 2017 — clearing the path for a presidency that could, if he wins again, stretch into the mid-2030s.
To his supporters, Museveni is the man who ended the cycles of coups and counter-coups that defined Uganda in the 1970s and early 1980s. They credit him with bringing relative stability, overseeing economic growth in sectors such as coffee exports, infrastructure expansion, and attracting investment from China and the Gulf. Kampala today has skyscrapers and expressways that would have been unthinkable when Museveni first came to power with his National Resistance Army.
But critics see a very different story — one of creeping authoritarianism, shrinking civic space, and an increasingly sclerotic political system centred on one man. “Museveni is not running for Uganda’s future; he is running from Uganda’s past catching up with him,” opposition figure Kizza Besigye quipped recently. That past includes corruption scandals, heavy-handed crackdowns on protesters, and security forces accused of human rights abuses.
Perhaps the biggest thorn in Museveni’s side is Robert Kyagulanyi, better known by his stage name Bobi Wine. The musician-turned-politician has become the face of Uganda’s youthful opposition. In the 2021 elections, he electrified young voters, ran an energetic campaign, and claimed victory — before results gave Museveni a comfortable win with 58 percent of the vote. Bobi Wine called the election rigged; security forces placed him under house arrest for days afterward.
This time, Bobi Wine and his National Unity Platform are again preparing to take Museveni on. His message is sharper, his network of grassroots organizers is wider, and he has spent years telling Uganda’s youth that their future is being stolen by a regime that has outlived its purpose. Still, the playing field is hardly level. Opposition rallies are frequently broken up by police, media coverage is restricted, and critics often end up in detention.
International partners have had a complicated relationship with Museveni. Western donors rely on Uganda for regional stability, especially its role in Somalia and South Sudan. Kampala is seen as a bulwark against jihadist insurgencies in East Africa. That security partnership often blunts criticism of democratic backsliding. Yet the international mood is shifting; younger diplomats and rights groups are calling for a tougher stance on governance issues, especially as Uganda flirts with closer ties to Russia and China.
Museveni’s camp, however, insists this is a matter for Ugandans alone. “No one has a monopoly on what democracy should look like,” a senior government spokesperson said, dismissing Western criticism as hypocrisy.
The question hanging over the 2026 race is not just whether Museveni will win — most observers assume he will — but what comes after. Can Uganda craft a peaceful transition when he eventually steps aside? Will there be space for a new generation of leaders, or will the country lurch back into turmoil as factions vie for power?
Museveni’s latest bid is more than just an election story; it is a test case for how African states manage long-term incumbency in a region where many leaders have overstayed their welcome. Some Ugandans shrug and say better the devil they know — at least the roads are paved and the economy is growing. Others insist that nearly 40 years is long enough for any man, no matter his record.
One thing is clear: 2026 will not just be about ballots. It will be about memory, legacy, and whether Uganda’s future still belongs to a man who first seized power before most of its voters were even born.
